Sphinx Christmas
by Dolce Saito
Summary: Series of one-shot/drabbles based on Christmas related prompts. [Ch3.up]
1. Mistletoe

**Day 1: Mistletoe**

* * *

Lisa shouldn't be surprised, no.

Twelve isn't the kind of guy who waits for the perfect moment to just arrive. He doesn't rely on happy coincidences or luck to get what he wants. He is the kind of person that fabricates unforgettable memories with the confidence and expertise of somebody who stopped believing in the machinations of fate a long time ago.

She realizes a moment too late why he had pulled her back as they were passing the big Christmas tree standing tall in the middle of Shinjuku park, and why he had let Nine and Five go ahead without warning them that they were stopping.

"Look, isn't it pretty?"

She looks away from the two figures still walking ahead of them and turns towards Twelve as he tilts his head back to stare in awe at the green giant before him, decorated with several colored lights and comically large baubles. Her lips curve, taking in the unadulterated joy on his features and feeling him lightly squeeze her hand with enthusiasm. She doesn't care about the tree, the decorations or the pretty lights, there is nothing like seeing Twelve's face light up with excitement, brown eyes wide and glowing.

They stand there for a couple of minutes, with Twelve admiring the display of lights and with Lisa enjoying his almost child-like fascination as he names all the different decorations, oblivious to the fact that she's looking at him and not at the tree.

A giggling couple walks by them and Lisa snaps out of her reverie, suddenly aware that Nine and Five have long disappeared from sight.

"Twelve," she tugs on his hand to catch his attention "I think Nine and Five left us behind,"

He turns to her and then looks dramatically around for several seconds before grinning "Uh-oh, seems like it,"

She blinks at him, wondering why he seems so happy about that.

He lets go of her hand and unzips the top of his jacket, reaching inside and quickly producing a familiar Christmas ornament that makes Lisa's eyes go wide.

He laughs at the way her stare is now glued to the green vine as he slowly lifts it above their heads.

"I take it you know what this is?"

Lisa manages to pry her eyes from the leafy sprig to look at him, heat rushing to her cheeks as he slowly starts closing the distance between them.

Twelve reaches up with his other hand to pluck a berry from the small bush, mouth curving at Lisa's baffled look before he wraps an arm around her waist and leans down to press his lips gently against hers.

Lisa closes her eyes, hands instinctively holding onto his arms for support in case her legs decide to give out underneath her. It would be a little bit embarrassing if she crumbled to the floor mid-kiss… not that she doesn't trust him to catch her. He always does.

But she wants the extra touch and her body happily obliges when he pulls her closer as the kiss deepens. She feels herself smile when he starts running his tongue teasingly over her bottom lip, and she takes reward in his surprised hesitation when she parts her lips to return the gesture. There is no need to be fearful anymore. Shy, guarded, paranoid Lisa disappears when he is with her and she's more than happy to wave her goodbye, even if it's temporary, even if she creeps back in when she least expects it.

Twelve pulls back after a minute, much to Lisa's disappointment. "You need to breathe, Lisa"

Her eyes widen, unaware of how winded she is until he points it out.

He takes her hand again and turns to face the tree one more time, committing to memory every detail on it, promising himself that no matter what, he will never forget this moment "Happy holidays, Lisa,"

"Happy holidays, Twelve," she returns softly, finally taking a moment to consider their surroundings.

Happy couples are brushing past them and the squeal of children fills the air as they tug on their parents' hands in an attempt to quicken their pace so they can get as close as possible to the stunning centerpiece of the park.

Not long ago she would have given everything to trade places with any of them, with the kid swinging between his parents' arms to the overly cute couples, holding hands and sneaking forehead kisses.

She didn't believe she'd ever get to experience even a fraction of that kind of undiluted happiness.

She beams at Twelve as his phone rings and he cringes. She takes the mistletoe from his hand and he hesitantly slides his thumb over the screen, knowing full well he is about to get an earful from Nine. She listens in, giggling when Five's angry shouting cuts off Nine mid-sentence and they start arguing with each other, forgetting about Twelve for a full minute before they both start lecturing him again.

Lisa glances at the people around her one more time and then stares at the small plant in her hand, looking fresh even though she was sure Twelve had been carrying it around inside his jacket for most of the day. He had done this for her. Just for her.

She clutches the mistletoe to her chest–which still has a couple more berries on it—and smiles up at the Christmas tree. She wouldn't dream of trading places with anyone in the world.

Lisa plucks another berry as Twelve ends the call and then looks up at him with a glint in her eye. Maybe she should learn from him and start taking control of the special moments in her life.

**0111010101010101010101011110**

Dolce S.- So this is the first on a series of Christmasy one-shots that I intend to write during the month. Once again work is interfering with my Hisalisa time...(or is it the other way around? priorities, man) and I ended up writing this at 2 am and it's almost 4 now. I had originally planned to write one drabble/one-shot each day for the entire month (as a personal challenge) but alas, work refuses to leave me alone. I'll probably be able to update more often after the 8th but I can't promise anything. I suck, I'm sorry.  
Oh, btw, prompts are more than welcome, I already have a short list but your ideas are probably better than mine so don't hesitate to share.


	2. Christmas Sweaters

**Christmas Sweaters**

* * *

Twelve grimaces as he holds up the way-too-large-for-him, white sweater Lisa had knitted as an early Christmas present, a slightly disfigured, rhomboidal, and all in all scary looking Kururin stares back at him, pleading with uneven eyes to be put out of his misery.

"How can anyone get Kururin wrong?" he mutters, feeling sad for the poor creature that is nothing but a far away cry from his favorite mascot.

"I can say her knitting skills are as good as her cooking skills." Nine declares as he sighs at the comically short sleeved green sweater in his lap.

Twelve stands ups, holding the sweater in front of him and measuring the sleeves with his arms. "It really is too big, I wonder if she intended this one for you at first,"

"Twelve, it would be too big even on me,"

Twelve sighs, sitting back down. "This Kururin makes me want to cry,"

"So you're not wearing yours either then," says Nine, tossing the sweater next to him "We'll have to make some sort of—"

"No!" Twelve turns to look at him, clutching the white sweater to his chest as if it had suddenly turned to something invaluable and irreplaceable "We are wearing them, Nine. Lisa put all of her effort and _love_ into these, it's the least we can do."

Nine stares seriously back at him, lips set in a firm line.

"She spent days knitting these, we can't just make an excuse not to wear them, look, it doesn't have to be in public, we can—"

Nine holds his sweater in front of Twelve pointedly. The sleeves are short and uneven, the neck-hole is tiny and the torso is too short. He knows he doesn't have to say anything to get his point across.

"Just roll the larger sleeve so that it's even with the other," offers the brown haired with a weak smile.

"The uneven sleeves are the least of my concerns. I probably can't even fit my head in this."

"At least give it a shot," Says Twelve, starting to put his own sweater over his long sleeved shirt. He smiles triumphantly at Nine when his head pops out of the turtleneck collar. He starts rolling the sleeves up and tucks in the midsection so that it doesn't fall down to his knees. It ends up all bunched up around his waist, making the thick rolled up sleeves look almost normal in comparison.

Nine looks at him as if he were the most ridiculous thing he's seen in his entire life and his lips twitch.

"What?"

"You need to find a mirror before you try to make me put mine on."

Twelve snatches Nine's sweater from his hands, ignoring his words and standing up to tower over his friend "You'll break her heart if you don't wear it. So come on, I'll help you put it on."

Nine frowns up at him, he knows he only has to stand up to reverse positions but he doesn't think Twelve will let him now that he's gained the upper hand.

"I'm not wearing it, that's final,"

"You are going to at least try it on. Now take off that pullover you're wearing or this will be even more difficult,"

"No,"

"Nine…"

"I'm not going to—Twelve!"

Twelve straddles him, hands pulling at Nine's dark blue pullover in an attempt to get it off.

"Stop this!" Nine grunts, surprised at Twelve's uncanny strength. He tries pushing him off but Twelve has an unyielding grip and after a short grapple both roll off the couch in an undignified tangle of limbs.

"Stop._struggling_. Your goddamn glasses are in the way," Twelve groans, having managed to pull half of Nine's v-neck sweater off, but his glasses have ridden up to the top of his head and are now caught in the piece of clothing.

"Twelve get off me now" Nine's voice is muffled and he blindly tries to grab one of Twelve's hands, catching instead the front of the ugly white sweater, Kururin's deformed face is now contorted in an agonizing grimace between Nine's fingers.

"I will get off you when I'm done,"

"Twelve, Nine!"

The two boys stop their struggle and turn in tandem towards Lisa's voice. She is standing at the entrance of the room, fidgeting nervously with her hands and failing to keep her eyes away from the scene before her.

"U-Um… wh-what, what are you…?"

For some reason one of Twelve's hands is under Nine's shirt now, firmly pressed against the guy's heaving chest, his brown hair is sticking in all directions and he looks winded, even as he grins at her. Nine's head is caught under his pullover so she can't make his expression, but going by the way he's tightly clutching Twelve's sweater Lisa's imagination can't help but fly into darker territories.

"I didn't—I didn't mean to…"

"What is she saying?" asks Nine, trying to pull his head out of the tangle of fabric.

Twelve blinks at Lisa for a moment before he rolls off Nine, laughing rambunctiously and holding his stomach.

"What? What is going on?" Nine pulls up into a sitting position, deciding to take off the pullover completely, and finally managing to turn to look at the girl.

"She thought...She thought we were about to—" Twelve snorts mid-sentence, unable to control his laughter.

"What?" Nine's questioning look turns into evident irritation "Stop laughing for a moment and—"

"I'm so sorry!" Lisa bows down, fist tightly clenched around the hem of her dress. "I didn't mean to interrupt you two, I didn't know that you…when I'm gone…I didn't-"

Twelve laughs harder and Nine's eyes widen, understanding the girls nervous rambling.

"No!" he turns to a gasping Twelve "Twelve, stop laughing and tell her she's mistaken!"

Twelve sits up slowly, wiping tears from his eyes. "Lisa, we weren't doing what you think…"

"Oh?" for some reason there's evident relief in her features now.

Nine stands up slowly, straightening his clothes and checking his glasses for scratches. "Seriously Lisa, where do you get these ideas from, anyway? we—"

"-wouldn't do anything of the sort unless you were a part of it!" Twelve finishes for Nine.

Lisa's eyes widen and Nine swiftly kicks Twelve on the back of the head, making the brown haired topple forward and on his face.

Nine picks up his discarded knitted sweater and considers it as Lisa kneels on the floor next to Twelve, worriedly asking if he's okay.

"Lisa…" begins Nine.

"Yes?" she's stroking the back of Twelve's head as he rests his forehead on her shoulder, muttering something about Nine being a mean jerk.

"I am grateful for your present but I can't wear this,"

Twelve lifts his head to hiss at Nine.

"It's just too small, I'm sorry,"

Lisa looks down, clearly embarrassed "Yes…I realized that when it was too late to do something about it."

Twelve strokes her back and glares at Nine, shaking his head.

Nine sighs "However, I am willing to teach you how to knit. Once you learn I'll wear anything you knit for me, does that sound fair to you?"

Twelve's jaw drops at Nine's offer and Lisa looks up at the tall man in surprise, finding it hard to even process his offer. Nine, offering to teach her how to _knit_ of all things?

"I…"

Nine folds the grass colored sweater "It doesn't mean I won't keep this, I just can't wear it."

Lisa nods enthusiastically at him "Thank you, Nine. I'll love for you to teach me."

Nine offers her one of his rare smiles and Twelve looks between the two, suddenly feeling uncomfortably out of the equation.

"Teach me how to knit too!" Twelve's hand shoots up in the air as if he were in class.

"No, that's my present to Lisa,"

Twelve puffs his cheeks at this, standing up and getting in Nine's face.

Lisa stares lovingly at the two boys as they start arguing with each other. She decides to pull out her phone then, snapping a picture of the scene, with Nine thrusting the folded sweater in Twelve's face for emphasis as he speaks, and Twelve gesturing energetically with his arms, the sleeves he had rolled up earlier coming undone and flapping comically about.

Lisa admires the candid picture and smiles to herself. Having poor skills at most everything definitely had its rewards.


	3. Santa

It was silly, and childish, Lisa knew that much. But she just wanted to surprise them for a change. Give them a taste of what normal people do. And it wasn't such a bad idea, was it? She was having fun for once, dressing up like this and sneaking out of their apartment to retrieve the presents she had bought and carefully hidden in the storage room of the building.

If they didn't catch her sneaking the presents inside she would consider it a personal victory. If they did then all the effort she put into the costume wouldn't go to waste.

She just wanted to give something back. See them smile. Make their Christmas memorable.

She was on her second and last trip inside their apartment, trying to find a way to kneel down in front of the tree without letting the presents fall–who knew it was that hard to move in a stuffed Santa Claus suit?– when she heard the sharp voice.

"**Oi!"**

She froze in place and turned her head to look over her shoulder; she had three full seconds to recognize Nine, standing not three feet away, hair tousled and glassless, before he leaped over and tackled her to the floor.

She hadn't had time to turn over, scream, let alone try to explain anything. The tree rocked back and forth as they went down, threatening to topple over them; the presents stacked in her arms went sprawling everywhere, making a ruckus as they tumbled in all directions; she let out a tiny squeak as the padded costume she wore made contact with the floor, protecting her from the worst of the impact, but still punching all air out of her lungs.

She gasped, trying to understand what was happening. She felt her arms being pulled back behind her back, and she tried to protest but Nine pressed her face hard against the cold floor, making her wince and get a mouthful of Santa Claus' white wig.

"What is going on?!" Somewhere in the distance, she heard Twelve's voice and his rushed footsteps, she tried calling to him, but got a mouthful of beard for her effort.

Twelve stopped a few feet from the scene. "Nine… what-who…" At a loss for words, Twelve simply stared.

"Do you think this is funny?" Nine demanded, his grip becoming slightly more painful "Breaking into somebody's apartment at 2 a.m., dressed up like that? How long have you been in here?"

The person under Nine's grip moaned, trying to form words, the sound came muffled from somewhere under the mass of white curls hiding their face.

Twelve tilted his head. "Wait, Nine…"

Nine pressed his knee against the intruder's back, making them yelp loudly this time.

Pale yellow burst before Twelve's eyes.

"Li…sa?" Twelve's eyes widened "Nine, stop!" he hurried to pull Nine away from the squirming Santa "It's Lisa!"

"What?" Nine loosened his hold enough for Twelve to get him off her.

"It's Lisa," Twelve repeated, and turned her on her back, brushing aside the white locks to look at her face.

With tearful eyes, Lisa looked back at him, rubbing her sore nose.

"Hey, Santa," Twelve smiled, helping her into a sitting position. "You picked the wrong house to break into."

Nine squinted at them.

Twelve tugged the beard down and pulled off her hat and wig so Nine could see her clearly.

Still stunned, Nine moved over to her "Lisa?"

She nodded.

"Wha–" Nine gaped at her, trying to make sense of it all. "Are you crazy?! I could've really hurt you!"

"You did," Lisa mumbled, a little bit irritated, her face was throbbing, and her small surprise had been ruined.

Twelve rubbed her reddened wrists gently "Nine can be really dangerous without his glasses."

"I thought someone had broken in."

"You didn't give me time to explain," Lisa protested.

"You don't give intruders time to explain!" Nine snapped back at her, "Honestly, Lisa."

"Now, Nine, calm down," Twelve looked very amused, even as he checked on Lisa for any other sore spots "You should apologize, you had your knee on her spine not a minute ago."

"I thought she–" Nine shook his head, giving up. "Are you alright?"

"Is my nose… is it bleeding?" Lisa tried touching it, but Twelve pulled her hand down.

"It doesn't look like it, it's just very red. You're looking more Rudolph than Santa Claus to be honest."

"Twelve!" Nine and Lisa said unison, making the brunet laugh.

Once the presents had been gathered and placed under the tree–and Lisa's bumps had been properly tended to–, they sat on the floor, leaning against the couch, too wound up to go back to sleep.

"I hope nothing was broken," Lisa mumbled looking at some of her partly crushed gifts.

Nine sighed loudly. "It's not really my fault," he said stubbornly.

"Of course it is," Lisa said under her breath, earning her a quick glare from Nine and a chuckle from Twelve.

"Such an early Christmas morning." Twelve yawned and plopped down to rest his head on Lisa's padded belly. "You know, you looked really cute with the beard and the wig."

Lisa looked down at him, puffing out her cheeks and making him laugh.

"I would ask you to put them on again but Nine here might not recognize you and clock you in the face."

"Twelve," Nine warned.

"You're lucky he didn't take out his gun," Twelve continued.

"Shut up," Nine growled.

Lisa paled, realizing Twelve was right "Would you have shot me?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"Of course not…" but Nine trailed off, "Maybe. But not fatally."

Lisa shivered and Twelve took her hand, squeezing it gently. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. Okay, okay, how about we sing some Christmas carols to pass the time before we open our ruined presents?"

Nine growled "No."

Lisa clapped her hands together, "That sounds nice."

Twelve grinned at their responses, and completely ignored Nine's refusal.

"Okay, let's see.. On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me:"

Twelve sent a meaningful look Nine's way, a mischievous tinkle in his eye "…one bloody nose and a bruised rib."

Lisa laughed out loud, reaching to touch her nose, as Twelve burrowed his face in her costume to avoid Nine's quick attack with a throw pillow. Lisa felt Twelve's arms hug her closer as he curled up against her, saw the reluctant smile on Nine's face as he smacked the back of Twelve's head and then stood up declaring that he needed his morning coffee now if he was going to have to listen to them tease him for acting as any thinking person would in a break-in situation.

Maybe her initial plan hadn't exactly gone the way she had intended, but this was nothing short of memorable, she thought, scrunching up her nose and trying not to touch it again.

She was spending Christmas with a couple of terrorists after all, and this was as normal as it got.

It fit them. It fit them just right.


End file.
